The military council has announced that parliamentary elections will start on Nov. 28 with a mixed system of proportional representation and individual lists. Most political groups fear the system will allow Mubarak supporters to return to office

He made a name for himself delivering sermons in English in mosques across the United States, where he also worked for a charity association founded by Yemeni cleric Abdul Majeed al-Zendani, whom the U.S. government has identified as a “global terrorist.”

Ford arrived in Damascus in January, filling a diplomatic vacuum since Washington withdrew his predecessor in 2005. Obama had hoped the gesture would help convince Assad to reconsider his alliance with Iran and with Islamist militant groups.

In guerrilla style typical of recent Islamic extremist attacks in northern Nigeria, about 15 gunmen stormed three houses in Ungwan Rana Bitaro village in the Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna, leaving three dead and eight wounded.